And then there is ANNE MORROW LINDBERGH!

I don't think I have ever met a MORROW family, at least a family not actively engaged in genealogical research, that didn't say, "You know, they say we're supposed to be related to Anne MORROW Lindbergh". Most MORROW genealogist know whether or not, there is a relationship. However, there are always the exceptions. There seems to be several reasons for this misguided belief.

First, there is what is known in the genealogical world as the 'Famous Relative Syndrome'. The MORROW-Lindbergh family became famous of course, after the Lindbergh flight and the kidnapping and death of the Lindbergh baby. Naturally, people of MORROW descent reasoned that there must be a kinship if Anne Lindbergh was a MORROW, as many people feel there must be a relationship between any famous persons of the same surname as theirs. As a genealogist, this family claim leads to many hours of needless research, but I personally did not dwell on the prospects too long. I read a biography of Dwight Whitney MORROW, father of Anne, early in my reseach endeavors, and there didn't seem to be a connection. After saying all of that, there is always the remote possibility that there is a relationship in the British Isles somewhere, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Secondly, there are publications out there that are completely incorrect; based on conjecture or hope, and with not one shred of evidence to back up the claims. Some of these publications are innocent endeavors by genealogists that simply don't have the research skills to gain the evidence; some make claims just to sell books; and a few just fudge the truth hoping to make it so. There is one publication of note where a lot of the myth is perpetuated: Tennessee Cousins, by Worth Stickley Ray. I do not have any idea under which category this publication fits, but I do know there is little evidence to back up the claims, and anyone using this publication needs to prove any claim with backup material;, i.e., wills, deeds, census records, or any other records they can lay their hands on, before accepting it as gospel. It also states somewhere in this book that all MORROW families came from England. One only has to look at a few U. S. census records to disclaim this statement. Many if not most MORROWS were from Ireland. He also seems to assume that all MORROW families were descended from one David MORROUGH or MORROW who settled in the Norfolk, VA, area. And to top things off, he has Anne MORROW Lindbergh descended from one Alexander MORROW in Tennessee, which completely false (wrong Alexander, wrong place).

So you say, she must be related to some MORROWS!

Well, yes, she is related to some MORROWS, hundreds of them, and there is plenty of proof to show the relationships. Anne MORROW NEES, of Kansas, compiled a book of her MORROW ancestors.

Alexander MORROW 1745-1817 of Brooke County, W(Virginia) and his Descendants, compiled by Anne MORROW Nees, edited by George Lester MORROW, Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore, 1993.

The direct line for Anne MORROW:

Alexander MORROW, b. about 1775, Northern Ireland
James MORROW, b. before 1775, probably in Ireland
Alexander MORROW, b. 27 Jan 1815, Brooke County, VA (WV)
James Elmore MORROW, b. 28 Mar 1837, Brooke County, VA (WV)
Dwight Whitney MORROW, b. 11 Jan 1873, Huntington, Cabell County, WV
Anne Spencer MORROW, b. 22 Jun 1906, Englewood, NJ m. Charles A.        
          Lindbergh Jr.

So, the next time you run into a MORROW who starts off the conversation with 'THEY SAY', refer them to this web site or the bibliography cited above, and Anne MORROW NEES rebuttal to Tennessee Cousins, below. If they are related, the above document will provide ample proof.


CORRECTION TO TENNESSEE COUSINS' CONCLUSIONS ON THE ANCESTRY OF DWIGHT MORROW

TENNESSEE COUSINS, Worth Stickley Ray, 1950

by Anne MORROW NEES

Tennessee Cousins describes an ancestry of Dwight MORROW on pages 264 and 265, and much of it is incorrect.

Dwight did not descend from Daniel MORROW who married Elizabeth Coons, son of Alexander MORROW and Elizabeth Armstrong. Furthermore, the Alexander of Hancock County, who was the immigrant ancestor of Dwight MORROW, came to the area from Ireland, not from Virginia. He may have spent several years in New Jersey prior to the move to the northern panhandle of Virginia.

The first evidence of his arrival is the purchase on 29 March 1803 of a tract of land on Kings Creek (then Indian Creek) from John Henderson and  his wife Alese. Involved in the purchase were Alexander's sons William, John, James and Alexander Jr. His sons continued to purchase land along Kings Creek in the Area. (Brooke Co., VA deeds)

Alexander died between the writing of his will 10 Aug 1816 and its probate Dec. 1817. His will names his children William, John, James, Elizabeth Poke, Nancy Mittoe, Margaret Morehead, and Alexander Jr. (Book A, p. 111, Brooke Co., VA)

Alexander and his wife, Susan Cassidy came from Ireland with their seven children. One daughter, Margaret, had married in Ireland and brought her first child with her. A second child was born "on the Atlantic" according to census information. The other children all married in Virginia (now West Virginia).

Alexander and Susan MORROW were early members of St. John's Episcopal Church in Follansbee VA( WV) and they are buried in the church cemetery along with sons John and his wife Eleanor and Alexander Jr. and  his wife Susannah. William, the unmarried son, is also buried there.

Susannah, wife of Alexander Jr., states in the 1850 census that she was born in Ireland. Robert, Margaret, and James, children of this couple, all state in censuses that their parents were both from Ireland. William and James, children of John, state that their parents were born in Ireland. Unfortunately we have not found either the passenger list information or the naturalization records. Nor do we know what part of Ireland they emigrated from. The History of the Panhandle reports that they came from Antrim in 1792, first to New Jersey. (Newton, Nichols, and Sprankle, 1879, pp. 321, 445)

There is ample evidence that Alexander and his children came from Ireland rather than from Virginia.

The book, Tennessee Cousins shows Dwight the son of James Elmore MORROW and Clara Johnson, which is correct. James Elmore was not the son of Alexander and "a Miss Elmore", however. Census information shows clearly that Alexander MORROW who married Sarah Jane Wilson was the father of James Elmore MORROW. This Alexander was the grandson of Alexander the immigrant and his father was  James MORROW who married 2) Nancy Elliott.

The children listed as those of James Elmore MORROW are incorrect. The children were:

1. Agnes b. 27 Jan 1869 m. Richard Brown Scandrett
2. Jay Johnson b. 20 Feb 1870 m. Harriet H. Butler
3. Alice b. 23 Jul 1871
4. Dwight Whitney b. 11 Jan 1873 m. Elizabeth Reeve Cutter
5. Hilda b. 9 Oct 1874 m. Rev. Edwin McElvaine
6. Fred Walter b. 1875/6 died young
7. Earl Alexander b. Jun 1879 died young
8. Ralph Benson b. ? died young

There were none named James William, Lewis, Hugh, or Elizabeth. We can find no Bert in Texas. Stephen MORROW, the only son of the only son of Dwight MORROW, had stated that he had no uncles in Texas. (letter dated 23 Aug 1985)

The children of Dwight Whitney MORROW and Elizabeth Reeve Cutter were:

1. Elizabeth Reeve b. 17 Mar 1904 m. Aubrey Niel Morgan
2. Anne Spencer b. 22 Jun 1906 m. Charles A. Lindbergh
3. Dwight Whitney Jr. b. 28 Nov 1908 m. Margot Loines
4. Constance Cutter b. 26 Jun 1914 m. Aubrey Niel Morgan

Prof. James Elmore MORROW did teach at Marshall College in Huntington where Dwight Whitney was born. Thereafter he moved to Pittsburgh, PA, where he taught in the Fifth Ward School in Allegheny and later served as principal of the high school. 

The Hugh MORROW in Texas may have been related to a Hugh MORROW in Washington Co., PA. We find no connection to the Alexander MORROW line of Hancock County, WV and his descendants.

The correct line:

Alexander MORROW and Susan Cassidy of Ireland
James MORROW and Nancy Elliott
Alexander MORROW and Sarah Jane Wilson
James Elmore MORROW and Clara Johnson
Dwight Whitney MORROW and Elizabeth Reeve Cutter


Anne MORROW NEES, sent this document to the compiler, after I had published a History of Joseph MORROW of Summit Point, Jefferson County, WV, c1985. In the document, I had debunked the family myth that our MORROWS were in some way related to Anne MORROW Lindbergh. In a series of letters, we had exchanged information, and both had come to the conclusion that Worth Ray's, Tennessee Cousins, was largely responsible for a lot of the misinformation on the various MORROW families depicted in his book. She later published her book on the descendants of Alexander MORROW. If the reader feels that they have a connection to the Alexander MORROW family, send an email to [email protected], and I will gladly do a search of the Anne's book, and send back the results.

Anne MORROW NEES no longer lived in Kansas, and may have gone to live with one of her children, according to a researcher on her mother's side of the family. (11/14/03)

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